Containers such as tool boxes and storage cabinets are commonly used at construction sites and similar locations for the storage of tools and materials. Typical designs comprise a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and opposed end walls which are interconnected to form a hollow interior. The container interior is closed by a top wall or lid pivotal between open and closed positions on a hinge mounted to the back wall, usually with the assistance of gas springs.
Due to the value of tools and materials that may be held in storage containers, one or more locking mechanisms are generally employed to prevent theft. In horizontally oriented containers, it is typical to position a padlock at one or both of the corners of the lid to prevent it from being opened except when the padlock(s) are unlocked. Preferably, structure is provided to shield the padlock(s) from exposure to tampering, such as attempts to cut the shackle or pry open the body of the padlock.
One design of a locking mechanism for storage containers of the type described above is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,772,613 and 8,096,152. Although somewhat different, the locking mechanism disclosed in each of these patents operates by causing a padlock to either block or permit lateral motion of a latch rod located in the interior of the container body relative to flanges mounted to the lid of the container. When lateral movement of the latch rod is blocked by alignment of the body of the padlock with one end of such rod, the latch rod engages the flanges carried by the lid thus preventing the lid from opening. After unlocking the padlock, the latch rod is free to move in a lateral direction without contacting the padlock body such that it disengages the lid flanges allowing the lid to be opened. Locking mechanisms of this type are relatively complex and depend on accurate alignment between a number of elements mounted to the lid and to the body of the container. Over the course of time and as a result of the often demanding conditions at job sites, the lids and bodies of storage containers may become misaligned making operation of latch rod difficult and/or preventing an end of the latch rod to engage the padlock body in order to lock the container.
These issues have been addressed in the locking system disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/970,759 which is described below and illustrated in FIGS. 1-8. The locking system of the '759 patent application comprises one or more locking assemblies each including a housing which is mounted by a bracket within a cavity formed in each end wall of the container. The housing has an interior which receives a padlock such that the shackle of the padlock extends through openings formed in the housing and bracket, in a direction toward the interior of the container, and the body of the padlock faces outwardly within the cavity. The shackle is movable between an unlocked position wherein the padlock body may be moved into a pocket formed in the housing interior, and a locked position in which the padlock body is located outside of such pocket.
The locking system further comprises a latch, and preferably a spring-biased hawk bill latch, which is mounted to the lid of the container in alignment with the shackle of the padlock. With the shackle in the locked position and the padlock body located outside of the pocket in the housing, the latch arms of the latch engage the shackle in the course of movement of the lid to the closed position. The latch arms open in response to initial contact with the shackle and then close around it when the lid is fully seated on the container body. An opening is provided between the latch arms in the closed position within which the shackle is captured. In order to open the lid, the padlock is unlocked allowing one end of the shackle to disengage the padlock body. The padlock body may then be moved into the pocket of the housing, in a direction toward the interior of the container body, causing the shackle to move in the same direction. In the course of such movement, that portion of the shackle which had been located between the latch arms moves through the opening between them until it clears such arms. With the latch arms no longer encircling the shackle, the lid may be opened.
Although the above-described locking system effectively locks the lid of the container in a locked position, it has been found that determined attempts to defeat such system may be successful. With reference to FIGS. 1-8, it is possible using a screw driver or other elongated tool, and a hammer, to break apart the housing 42 or drive it inwardly into the interior of the container 10 allowing access to the latch arms of 114, 116 of the latch 40. The screw driver may be inserted into the housing 42 from the area where a key is inserted into the padlock 46, and then using a hammer the screw driver can break the housing 42 apart, since it is a cast part and relatively brittle, and/or the housing 42 can be driven inwardly toward the container interior 22. Once the housing 42 is at least partially broken or driven inwardly, the screwdriver may be used to separate the latch arms 114, 116 from a position encircling the shackle 50 of the padlock 46 thus permitting opening of the lid 24.
As best seen in FIG. 6, with the lid 24 of the container 10 closed and the latch 40 in a locked position, the latch arms 114, 116 are exposed within the interior of the bracket 44. It has been found that if the front edge of the lid 24 in the area of the locking assembly 36 is pried upwardly, a screw driver or other elongated tool may be inserted into the interior 22 of the container 10 underneath the lid 24 and manipulated to disengage the latch arms 114, 116 from the shackle 50 of the padlock 46.
It is apparent that no locking system for containers of the type depicted in FIGS. 1-8 can completely prevent access to the container interior. The lid of the container could be breached using a power saw or cutting torch, for example. And while the potential ways of defeating the locking system disclosed the '759 application and described above require a good deal of effort, it would be beneficial to provide a means for preventing access to the container interior in the manner described above.